The 21-year-old marriage of a pastor’s wife, Mrs Uzoamaka Ibeneme, ended yesterday after an Igando Customary Court in Lagos, dissolved the union on grounds of alleged adultery.
Mr. Akin Akinniyi, the court president, who delivered the judgment, said the petitioner, Pastor Joshua Ibeneme was adamant despite the mediation by the court and family intervention.
“Since the petitioner insisted on divorce after several interventions, the court is, therefore, left with no option but to grant him his wish and pronounce the union dissolved,” Akinniyi said.
“The court hereby pronounces the marriage between Pastor Joshua Ibeneme and Mrs Uzoamaka Ibeneme dissolved today.
“Both of you will henceforth cease to be husband and wife, each of you should go on his or her separate ways unmolested.
“The court wishes both of you well in your future endeavours.
“Any squabble between both you from now on shall be treated as criminal and any violation of this judgment will be regarded as contempt of court and will attract imprisonment without option of fine,” Akinniyi ruled.
The petitioner, Joshua Ibeneme (53), had approached the court to end the marriage to his wife, Uzoamaka, who he said was messing around with his church members.
His words: “My wife had sexual affairs with two of my church members, a deacon and a bishop. Both of them were telling my other members that they slept with my wife because she enticed them.
“Whenever I returned from a trip, my last born always told me that men came to pick and drop my wife. Even God told me to divorce her or else she would destroy my ministry,” he claimed.
The petitioner said that his wife denied him sex for five years.
“My wife starved me of sex for more than five years. Whenever I wanted to sleep with her, she would give one excuse or the other and, in fact, she has moved out of my room to a separate room.
“But she gives it to my members freely,” the pastor said.
The pastor said that his wife was always mocking and embarrassing him in public places, telling people about his sexual performance.
He said that Uzoamaka always accused him of having affairs with any female member, who came to the house for counselling.
“She accused them of dating me and also went to their houses to fight them. Her behaviour has chased many members away from my church,” he said.
He begged the court to divorce the loveless union, claiming he was no longer in love with his wife.
However, the respondent, Uzoamaka, denied having sex with their church members but accused her husband of infidelity.
“It is women that cause our frequent fighting, they are the problem in our home and my husband’s lust for them is very high.
“I never slept with the two men, who claimed that they slept with me; they just wanted to tarnish my image. My husband is dating the wife of the deacon.”
The mother of three, however, begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for dissolution of the marriage, as she was still in love with him.